Mesh Section

                             

  • Limit Vertex Groups: Limit the number of vertex groups per vertex.
  • Prune Vertex Groups: Remove vertices and vertex groups with zero weights.
  • Create Graft Groups: Create vertex groups based on graft information.
  • Transfer Vertex Groups: Transfer vertex groups from active to selected.
  • Apply Subsurf: Apply the subsurface modifier, maintaining shapekeys.
  • Copy Modifiers: Copy modifiers from active mesh to selected.
  • Find Seams: Create seams based on existing UVs.
  • Separate Loose Parts: Separate loose parts as separate meshes.
  • Add Pinning Groups: Add hairpin group to mesh hair.

 

Limit Vertex Groups

This tool limits the number of vertex groups per vertex. This can be useful for exporting characters to games which have an upper limit on this number. It could possibly also be used to improve viewport performance in Blender, but tests were disappointing.

 
Press Limit Vertex Groups and specify the limit in the pop-up dialog. The default is four but we set it to one to better illustrate the effect.

Here is the ChestLower vertex group, before and after limitation. Only vertices were the ChestLower influence had the biggest influence remain in the vertex groups.

 

Prune Vertex Groups

This tool removes vertices from vertex groups if their weights is below a threshold. It also removes empty vertex groups afterwards.

When invoking the tool, you are prompted for the value of the threshold. The default is 0.001, so vertices are removed from vertex groups if the weight is less that 0.001.

 

Create Graft Groups

 

 

Transfer Vertex Groups

 


Apply Subsurf

 
Modifiers are normally applied with the Apply button in the modifer context. However, this does not work if the mesh has shapekeys. The Apply Subsurf button does apply the subsurface modifier, even if the mesh has shapekeys. The shapekeys are also subdvided.


Copy Modifiers


Find Seams

This tool generates seems where adjascent faces belong to different UV islands.


Add Pinning Groups

This is a utility for mesh hair. When doing cloth simulations we often want part of the mesh not to move, whereas other parts should move more or less. The extent to which a certain vertex is pinned down is controlled by a vertex group. 

 

Select the hair mesh (the scalp should already be separated as another object) with the default settings, and press Add Pinning Group. We are prompted for four parameters Pin X0, Pin X1, Pin W0 and Pin W1. They affect the weight assignment according to the graph below.

 

A new vertex group called HairPinning is created. The weight assignments can be seen in Weight Paint mode.

If the default weight assignment was not satisfactory, we simply change the parameters and press Add Pinning Group again. The HairPin group is now updated with new weights.